


TFA Human: Autotroopers

by BronzeWool



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Animated (2007)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Police, F/M, Gen, M/M, Mutants
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-16
Updated: 2015-02-24
Packaged: 2018-01-04 21:34:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1085935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BronzeWool/pseuds/BronzeWool
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bumblebee is the newest rookie police officer on the force, and grudgingly paired up with, loner detective, Prowl. Together they keep the streets free of crime, enter the underground world of the black market, illegal racing, and bounty hunters. Eventually they team up with three other emergency service workers as they combat the raids and riots from a movement that calls themselves the Decepticons.</p><p>Relationships: Prowl/Jazz, one-sided Lockdown/Prowl, Bumblebee/Blurr, Blackarachnia/Optimus</p><p>Friendships: Bumblebee/Prowl, Sari/Bumblebee, Bumblebee/Bulkhead, Elita-1/Optimus/Sentinel, Ratchet/Arcee</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Final Exam

Captain Fanzone wasn't the type of man to normally crack a smile, but if there was one thing even he took great pleasure in, it was watching the new recruits take their first steps into the Exam Hall. How some nervously tiptoed their through the grand gates, while others sauntered in as if they were already full-fledged Autotroopers. But each and every one gazed in awe at the Great Hall, with its tall pillars and glass dome. From above, rows upon rows of elegant seats, sat the Elite, looking down on them. Several examiners, including Fanzone himself, watched them with calculated eyes as they compared notes on their electronic notepads, weighing their skills and marks.

It was fun watching them squirm.

Fanzone was particularly interested in the most unusual pair to enter the hall. The first was a giant of a man, who was nervously wringing his hands together, whereas his smaller companion practically strut into the room, wearing the most idiotic smirk plastered across his face. How did he even pass the height requirement? Vaguely recognizing the small stature, Fanzone tried to look up their profiles, but the bloody device decided to malfunction on him! The more buttons he hit, the more it just kept glitching, until the device shut itself off.

"This is why I hate machines," he grumbled into his palm.

"Be cool chief, looks like we have a full house this year."

Fanzone turned towards the voice, his eyes catching the Elite Guard symbol on the white blazer. The badge belonged to a dark skinned man in a white cap with a dark pair of shades.

"Jazz," Fanzone nodded in greeting. "It would seem Ultra Magnus is going soft on these entry exams."

"Or maybe the kids are just that good," Jazz mused, stroking his goatee.

Jazz was a very laid back individual, despite the extensive training and skills he has gained over the years in both the Elite Guard and Cyber Ninja Corps. Fanzone was his complete opposite in every way, both in personality and appearance. Older than Jazz by several years, Fanzone was very stocky, pale, with blonde hair and a moustache. He was also foul tempered and stuck in his old ways.

"You made any bets this year?" he asked as the last of the recruits entered the hall. From above they all looked the same in the standard white and black Autotrooper Academy jumpsuits and helmets.

"You know I'm not into any of that," Jazz grinned. "But I have seen a few kids who would make it onto the fast track for the Elite Guard. There also appears to be a lot of soldier regiment candidates this year too."

Fanzone nodded, eyes wandering towards the other examiners in the stadium. His trusted lieutenant, Depth Guard, and chief forensics specialist, Chromia, had attended the ceremony with him to represent the Cybertron Police Defence Command. They both stood proud in the uniforms, displaying their black and yellow emblems on their arms with honour. Across from them, Fanzone spotted the Firefighter's blue and red insignia, adjacent to the paramedic's white flag with a red cross, next to the S.W.A.T unit's grey star against a green background, and so on and so on. Like every year, all profession departments were present for this special occasion, from the Ministry of Science to the Cybertron Intel.

The heavy doors shut behind the final stragglers and all the lights suddenly dimmed as a spotlight shined down on the podium floor, where a muscular, dark skinned man, in a blue uniform, with an impressive chin, walked onto the stage.

"Alright maggots, get in line!"

The whispering recruits immediately clammed up and got in ranks like organized ants. The big guy, Fanzone noticed from earlier, nearly tripped over several recruits as he tried to slide into rank next to the little guy.

"Jazz, what do you know about recruits #345 and #346?"

"Hmm?" Jazz leant over Fanzone's shoulder, and with just a few clicks the screen turned back on displaying two profiles. The first was a timid youth with a strong jaw, lighter skin, dark hair and blue eyes. The second was a dark skinned boy with blonde hair, and the same blue eyes, wearing a yellow cap, and an annoying smirk plastered across his face.

"Well the first would be Bulkhead, a farmer's son I believe, first time in the inner-city by the looks of it. He displayed very impressive results in physical training, able to lift and throw twice his own weight. However his real talent seems to lie in Ground bridge schematics."

"You're joking right?" Surely someone with a name like Bulkhead of all things, couldn't do more than pick up heavy weights and punch down walls for demolition.

"Better believe it chief," Jazz grinned. "Passed the robotics exams with flying colours, a regular genius by the looks of it."

"And #346?"

"Well the little guy's name is Bumblebee. From what his test results show he's got a lot of raw talent, fastest recruit we've had in years, and a good aim to boot. However, he shows little to no patience for training or taking advice. His first choice is, no surprise, the Elite Guard, but his second choice is the Police Department."

So that's why Fanzone recognized him, he must have seen that cocky face when Depth Guard first showed him the list of potential candidates. Hopefully the kid will just scrape through the final exam and Fanzone wouldn't have to deal with the brat in his division. Speaking of which, it looked like Sentinel was ready to begin the ceremony.

"Now, for those of you who do not know, I am Sentinel Prime, your commanding officer for this final exam. I suppose I should congratulate you all for making it this far."

There was a slight pause and the recruits smiled, glowing with pride.

"Except, I'm not!" He bellowed, shocking them all into attention. "Don't think for one second anyone here is impressed with you lazy lot. This is your last chance to impress the examiners, and me. I expect nothing less than 120% from all of you, because if you flunk this last test, then you're out of the program for good!"

If Fanzone hadn't heard that exact same speech, year after year, he might have actually felt sorry for the poor recruits. As it stood though, they were already an hour behind schedule, and Fanzone just wanted to know when Sentinel would stop blowing his own horn so they could rank the recruits and go home.

"Since you all are now of legal age, you will each be handpicked into your future careers. Above your heads you will see representatives from the best of the best, both the military and civilian Cybertron departments."

The recruits titled their heads back and stared up at the examiners for the first time, their eyes searching for the banners they wanted. Just like Jazz said, there was a large percentage who instantly found the army emblem. And just like every year, a large percentage immediately made a bee line for the Elite Guard symbol, right in front of them. Each one gazed up at it like hungry lions, waiting for their next meal to be flung into the arena.

Fanzone's eyes curiously found the unusual pair again. Just like Jazz said, Bulkhead clearly wanted to be selected for the Ministry of Science, though his body language suggested he was suffering from a lot of doubt, not that Fanzone could blame him. Bumblebee however, even though Fanzone couldn't get a proper look at his, he could practically feel the intensity of that stare burn into the Elite Guard flag. Even he had to respect the sheet amount determination and confidence radiating from this one kid.

"And before any of you get too cosy about the idea of picking Elite Guard, I should warn you," all eyes jumped back to Sentinel, who was now grinning down at them menacingly. "Only those who rank within the top 10 will be allowed membership into the program."

There were cries of outrage from the floor.

"That's not fair!"

"Why only so few?"

"Surely those who ranked highest in the preliminaries should already be offered a placement?!"

"Silence!" Everyone was shocked back into attention. "If you have a problem with the program, then you're more than welcome to leave and join the street clean-up crew. Otherwise, shut up and pretend you're not embarrassing yourselves."

The crowd went dead silent and purposely avoided the eyes of all the examiners above their heads, the people they were supposed to be impressing. There was a slither of doubt amongst the ranks, the sudden weight of the situation finally hitting them, that the moment this day was over they would be put down a path they could not change. From their faces alone, it was clear they were suddenly doubting their hard work and progress up to this point. That is, except for the smallest recruit. Bumblebee's stance did not falter, his face did not waiver. He continued to stare above Sentinel's head, eyes locked with the winged Autotrooper insignia. There was no room for doubt in his mind, no second guessing where he belonged.

Fanzone allowed himself to smile.

Jazz was right. They had a good batch this year.

The cadets took the Cybertronian oath and saluted with honour as the welcoming ceremony came to an end and the final exams began.

* * *

On the other side of the city, at the towering spire that was the Ministry of Science, Professor Isaac Sumdac, one of the many advanced minds on the planet, was currently giving a tour of the facility to the local school children and their kindergarten teacher. The group of at least twenty children walked through the automatic doors, and were led to a screening room with a glass wall opposite them. From where they stood they could see various scientists in lab coats and protective gear performing different experiments with robotic parts. In the centre of all this organized chaos, Professor Perceptor stood out amongst the crowd in his trademark red lab coat. Standing on a separate platform, he simultaneously controlled numerous multiple robotic arms to delicately work on more than experiment.

"Now class, as we are moving onto the robotics section of our tour, how about a little bit of background trivia?" asked Sumdac, a short dark skinned man in a pale green lab coat, and a white streak running through his wild black hair. "The Ministry of Science became what it is today when our head of division, Professor Perceptor worked along side Ultra Magnus himself to design and build weapons during the civil war. Today however, many of those departments have been closed down. Now we work solely for investigating the unknown, and improving the lives of the public."

"Isn't this all fascinating children?" Arcee, the children's teacher mused. She was a middle aged woman with a slim figure, olive skin and blue eyes. Dressed in a pink uniform with white trimmings around the jacket and trousers, she was a very pleasant teacher, although she did have a bad habit of forgetting small detail. "Does anyone have any questions for Professor Sumdac?"

One of the children waved his arm high above their heads, eagerly jumping on the spot.

"Professor Sumdac, Professor Sumdac! Is it true that Professor Perceptor really deleted parts of his brain to become so smart?"

Sumdac seemed a little taken back by the bold question, but not overly surprised, considering Preceptor's infamous reputation.

"Billy!" Arcee began to scold but Sumdac quickly intervened.

"Now, now children, let's not let our imaginations get carried away," he laughed half-heartedly. "While it may be true that Perceptor suffered some degree of damage to areas of the brain during the civil many years back, he is as much organic as you and me."

"Spark Plug!"

All heads snapped towards the door where a robotic dog with a key card in its mouth was being chased by a young red-headed girl in pigtails, wearing a pale orange dress, with matching shorts and boots.

"Sari, what have I told you about wondering the floors without supervision?" Sumdac exclaimed as he moved in to try and catch the dog before it had a chance to bump into anything fragile.

"It's not my fault, Spark Plug stole my key card again!" the dark skinned girl argued as she dived for the robotic quadruped, just as her father did.

Spark Plug dodge both at the last second, causing the two to dive head first into one another.

"Sorry dad," Sari groaned, rubbing her head.

"Are you two ok?" Arcee asked as she helped them up.

"Yes, thank you." Sumdac accepted her hand and pulled himself up. "I apologize for the inconvenience, Miss Arcee. Children this is my daughter, Sari."

Sari excitedly waved at the children, but she was completely ignored in favour of Spark Plug, who had chosen to abandon her key card in favour of being the centre of attention to the children, who eagerly wanted a turn to pet him. Sari dropped her hand and glared at the dog with a heated stare that screamed, traitor.

"Sari, what a beautiful name," Arcee interrupted politely, as she handed over Sari's forgotten key card. "If I'm not mistaken, it means princess, doesn't it? It's a pleasure to meet you."

Sari, who couldn't help but be charmed by the woman's pleasant personality, and smiled back as she happily took back her key card.

"It's nice to meet you to. I wish my tutor was more like you."

Sumdac's gloved hand patted Sari on the shoulder and ushered her aside.

"Well as long as you're here Sari, why don't you show the children the very heart of the building?"

Sari stood awestruck for a second before a huge grin spread across her face.

"You really mean it dad?"

"Of course," he smiled warmly before addressing the children. "Everyone, if you would follow my assistant, Sari, she'll lead you all to a very special room."

"You heard the man, follow me!" Sari bounced with excitement as she led everyone out the door, with Spark Plug at her heels. "You're all in for a special treat, only a few people have access to the lower floors. In fact, it's not even on most of the tours, but guys are a special exception today, so you all should feel very privileged."

Holding up her all access pass, Sari swiped the key card into a card slot against the metal wall, and to everyone's astonishment, the wall slid open, revealing a spacious glass elevator.

"Everyone step in or you'll miss out!"

The children were suddenly awed by her authority and dashed into the elevator, with Arcee and Sumdac stepping in last.

"Hold on to the railing everyone," Arcee said, taking the hand of one of the smaller children.

With the press of a button, the elevator jerked with life and they began to descend. With their hands and faces pressed against the glass, the children awed at the scientists below them, working on their respective projects, oblivious to the gawking sets of eyes watching their every move. Gradually going further and further, all natural sunlight was replaced by electronic lights, and at the very centre was a blinding electric blue glow that only intensified the closer they got.

"This, my children is the very heart of the building," Sumdac announced with pride. "What you are all looking at is the chamber holding an almost unlimited power source, called the All Spark."

There was a metallic smell in the air, and the children felt the hairs on the back of their necks stand on end. Even Sari, who had seen the All Spark a handful of times in her life couldn't help but shiver as she felt the vibrations in the air. It was suffocating. The lift came to sudden stop and the doors opened up to reveal a long catwalk that led to the island where the All Spark was held behind military grade steel walls, and bullet proof glass. Sari ran out first with Spark Plug, followed by Professor Sumdac, who ushered all of the children out, and finally Arcee bringing up the rear.

"The All Spark was created by the combined efforts of Perceptor, Wheeljack, Mainframe, and myself. Connected to all electronic power points throughout Cybertron, the All Spark is a purely environmentally friendly energy source, producing more energy than it takes in. This single generator is capable of powering the entire city and beyond. It is because of this unlimited energy supply we have been able to keep taxes so low and fund several other departments."

"So cool!" the children awed, and even though Sari tried to keep her cool, even she couldn't help but feel giddy as they stood in the very centre of the structure.

"Can we go inside?" one of the children asked.

"I'm afraid not." Sumdac shook his head. "Only those with high enough access may step through, and even then you need to be wearing a protective suit and eye protectors."

"Can it really power the entire city?"

"That and much more, in fact we are still only now just discovering the true limits of the All Spark. In time, this single structure could power the entire world."

"And what wonderful achievement that would be."

Sumdac froze at the familiar voice.

A man larger than life, dressed three piece grey suit, and a red shirt, walked towards them with his hands lazily folded behind his back. He had a tall and imposing presence about him, with strong shoulders and a well-trimmed beard and sideburns. His pale features were even more pronounced against his stark grey hair.

"Megatron Prime," Sumdac awed.

Sari flinched at that name. Megatron was her father's benefactor, and had him working on a top secret project for the last few months. Even more unsettling, despite his tall frame and wide shoulders, he also had a calm and serene smile about him, capable of putting anyone at ease and making himself the most admired person in the room. Then again, Sari supposed being both strong and friendly were two important assets for any politician.

"Sumdac," Megatron greeted casually. "I did not mean to interrupt your presentation."

"Not at all, we were just about finished here anyway." He waved off. "Is there something you wished to discuss?"

"As it so happens, I found myself with an open slot this afternoon, and decided to check on the final details of our arrangement."

"Of course, but I'm afraid I am still in the middle of a tour."

"I'm more than capable of waiting," said Megatron. "Starscream, when is my next appointment due?"

"15:00, sir."

Sari jumped as a man, who up until this point had gone completely unnoticed, made his presence known. He was a familiar face to most people, acting as Megatron's middle man when he could not be somewhere in person. He also had a reputation for acting as Megatron's shadow, tailing him everywhere whenever possible. Whereas Megatron was strong, yet pleasant, this guy was just plain sleazy. He was a fairly tall man in his late 30s, his slicked back black hair brought too much attention to his overly pointy face, and he was dressed in a maroon suit with orange tie, always sporting a mocking smile, and wringed his hands together too often for it to be considered natural.

"Well…" Sumdac drifted off as he glanced over at the children and back at the sharp eyes of his customer. "I suppose the children are due from a break anyway. Allow me to take you to my office."

"Splendid," Megatron grinned.

Sumdac turned back to the children and walked over to Arcee.

"Arcee, I'm afraid I will have to leave momentarily as I take care of an important matter." He apologized. "Instead I'll leave you in the capable hands of my assistant until I get back. If you follow the elevator back up, Sari will direct you to the canteen where the children can have lunch."

"That's perfectly fine Professor," said Arcee. "It will give me time to quiz the children on how much they've learnt today."

Sumdac smiled up at her with gratitude, and then turned to his daughter who was staring at Megatorn and Starscream with uncertainty.

"Sari, I'm counting on you."

This snapped Sari out of her internal thoughts, and she forced a grin on her face.

"No worries!"

Sari led the group back across the catwalk, feeling on edge as they walked past Megatron and his right-hand man. Starscream smirked down at them and Sari stuck her tongue at his smug face as they crossed paths.

"Gentlemen," Sumdac waved his arm out, directing the two towards his office. "I think you'll be very pleased with the final results."

Leading the two into his private work lab, Sumdac activated his computer and produced a holographic schematic in the middle of the room. The hologram then changed into Cad drawing of an experimental suit with a

"As you can see we finally completed the designs for the experiment Flight Suit." Sumdac beamed with pride.

"And the prototype?" Megatron asked evenly.

Sumdac walked over the opposite wall where a safe was kept. Starscream hovered too close for Sumdac's liking as he pressed the six digit combination and activated the eye scan. The safe unlocked with a load click and Sumdac pulled out a folded uniform with a heavy boots and backpack like device secured to the material. He brought the article of clothing over to his workshop table and spread the contents along its surface for Megatron to see.

"It needed to go back into the design stage due to the unbalance with stabilizers, and fuel consumption quantity," Sumdac explained. "The second prototype was tested by our staff earlier this week and has shown dramatic signs of improvement."

"Excellent," Megatron mused. "How long until we can mass produce?"

"Assuming all goes well with a full flight atmospheric test, I suspect by the end of the month. Assuming you can find the right market."

"I assure you that will not be an issue," said Megatron, lazily running his hand along the folded wings. "I have invested quite a large amount into this little project, and I expect nothing less than perfection."

"Besides the military will be more than willing to pay for an army of flying soldiers," Starscream grinned menacingly.

"Do you just say military?" asked Sumdac, shutting off the hologram.

Starscream cringe.

"What I meant was-"

"Yes," Megatron interrupted. "My plan is to present your work to the Elite Guard as a new combat suit for war."

"Megatron, you know the Ministry of Science no longer delves in weapons or Military based projects.," Sumdac exclaimed loudly.

"Calm yourself professor, I do not intend to use the suit as a weapon, but for enhanced protection and efficiency for soldiers on the battlefield. The added advantage of flight will allow for greater success in battle, and an increased chance of mortality rate."

"We are not at war, Megatron."

"Be that as it may, it does not hurt to be prepared," Megatron shrugged. "After all, I remember the last time we were at war, and how unprepared we were for a force we could not overpower."

"I understand your reasoning, but you have violated our agreement when the project was first agreed upon. You know the oath Ultra Magnus and Perceptor took in regards to military based weapons, flight suits included. I'm sorry, but I cannot in good sense of mind hand over the schematics. I'm afraid our business together is over."

Starscream took a hesitant step back as Megatron's eyes went ablaze, his cool façade all but vanished.

"My I remind you how much I have invested into your work these past few months Professor," he growled out.

Sumdac took a calming breath and stared back defiantly.

"I'll make sure you are fully compensated," he said evenly. "Good day."

Megatron stood rigid as Sumdac waved him off, his fist clenched tightly by his sides.

"Very well, I can respect a man of his values. I trust we are able to do business again under different circumstances," he smiled tightly. "Starscream, come!"

Megatron shoved past Starscream and stalked out the office. Awestruck by how calmly his superior was taking this, Starscream sent one last sneer at Sumdac before chasing after Megatron.

The two exited the building and walked towards a limousine waiting in the parking lot.

"With all due respect sir, you're taking this eerily well."

Megatron came to a prompt stop, Starscream almost bumped right into him.

"It would appear Professor Sumdac has outlived his usefulness." Megatron murmured to himself. "The designs are complete and it would be a shame to let a finished project go to waste."

A devious smirk spread across Starscream's face, and the most delicious thought began to enter his mind.

"What is it you wish of me, sir?"

The driver stepped out of the waiting vehicle and opened the door for his employer. Megatron stepped into the vehicle and rolled down the window.

"Bring me the Flight Suit, and cut off ALL loose ends."

He signaled for the driver to go and the limo drove away from the facility, leaving a gleeful Starscream, rubbing his hand together.

"With pleasure."

* * *

"Congratulations #327 on gaining entrance into the Ministry of Science, Miss Glyph," said the Scientist, Wheeljack.

The newly hired recruit beamed with delight as she shook hands with Wheeljack, and his colleague, Mainframe.

"We look forward to seeing what you contribute towards the advancement of scientific research," added Mainframe.

"I knew you would make it Glyph!" Tap-Out, the newly recruited Cybertron Ninja, congratulated.

"How long is this gonna take?" Bumblebee groaned from a distance, tapping his foot impatiently.

"I'm not sure I want to go next," Bulkhead whispered beside him, nervously watching Glyph as she was engaged in a deep conversation with Wheeljack about something called archaeometry. "I know I did really well on the Ground Bbridge technician aspects of the test, but what if that's not good enough to get on the course?"

"Would you relax, big guy?" Bumblebee grinned. "You know more about technician stuff than any other candidate I know. You aced that test, and those stuffy professors would have to be insane not to realise it."

"I wish I had your confidence," he whimpered.

"That's the thing Bulkhead, you gotta think confident! That's the only way you will ever be successful."

The taller male took several deep breathes to calm his nerves.

"Right, think confident, think confident, think confident."

"Next up is #345!"

Bulkhead screamed loudly and jumped several feet in the air.

"That's you!" Bumblebee grinned, slapping his friend around the back.

"I don't think I'm ready."

"Don't get cold feet on my now, big guy," said Bumblebee as he started pushing Bulkhead foreword. "Just remember, think confident."

"Right, think confident, think confident, think confident." Bulkhead mumbled under his breath and walked over to the impatient woman with his report.

"Attention all Elite Guard recruits," said an automated voice from the speaker. "The final testing results will now be revealed on screen in the main hall. Please make your way over to be main hall."

"And that's me," Bumblebee grinned as he ran after his fellow teammates, now rivals.

There were around sixty of them in total crowded in front of the virtual screen. Not wanting to miss a thing, Bumblebee used his smaller frame to squeeze between the other cadets so he could get closer to the front.

Standing before them, on the same podium Senintel Prime had been standing on only hours ago, was their examiner, Jazz.

"Alright," he began. "Before I reveal your final scores, just remember if you do not make it into the top 10, depending on how high your score is, it will still be accounted for in accordance with your second and third career choices."

"Enough yapping, let's get going already!" Bumblebee hissed under his breath. Apparently he wasn't alone in his opinion, as everyone else was fidgeting uncontrollable.

"Alright, show the results!" Jazz ordered, and the screen lit up, showing the highest ranking candidate first, Ironhide.

Bumblebee felt disappointment that he didn't get first, or beat Ironhide in the ranking, but that didn't matter as long as he stayed in the top 10. Next were the twins, Jetfire and Jetstorm, which came as a huge surprise to everyone since they had even less restraint thaan Bumblebee when it came to following the rules. The names continued to go down and after the fifth slot Bumblebee started to sweat, he still didn't see his name. Six, seven, _please_ , eight, _pleaseplease_ , nine, _pleasepleaseplease_.

"And Bumblebee makes ten," Jazz smiled. "Congratulations to all of you, and everyone who gave it their best shot."

Bumblebee stood in shock.

He made it.

He actually made.

There was a wave of disappointment from the rest, and a series of groans now that they were out of the program.

"Would the top 10 please stand on stage, Sentinel would like to personally congratulate you on making the final cut."

With a spring in his step, Bumblebee bounced behind the top nine, and took his place at the end of the line as Sentinel stepped forward with a small metallic box in his hands.

"So this is the best of the best?" Sentinel mused, for once sounding impressed. "Congratulations on each and every one of you to making it here today. It is with the highest honour, I initiate you into the Elite Guard."

He passed the box over to Jazz, who held it tenderly as Sentinel clicked to buttons on either side, opened it, containing ten shining Elite Guard badges. Taking the first badge out of the velvet interior, Sentinel stepped in front of Ironhide, who saluted before him.

"Name?"

"Ironhide, sir!"

"Ironhide," Sentinel shook hands and presented him with his symbol. "Congratulations on achieving the highest score soldier."

"Thank you, sir!" Ironhide stood at ease.

Sentinel picked up the next badge, and repeated the same procedure for every single Autotrooper. Bumblebee practically lost all patience when there was only one badge left. Sentinel carefully picked it up, but when he turned to present it to the final cadet he looked completely lost as to where the 10th recruit went, until he looked down and finally spotted Bumblebee.

"Name?" Sentinel raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

"Bumblebee, sir!"

"Bumblebee?" there was a slight twitch around his mouth. "You sure you wanna keep it kid? Now's your chance to change it."

"I like it," Jazz interrupted. "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. It suits you."

Bumblebee's grin widened, whereas Sentinel seemed to be using all of his will power to not roll his eyes.

"Fine, Bumblebee it is," Sentinel reached out to take his hand, when suddenly they were interrupted by a tap on his shoulder.

"Sentinel Prime, sir?" one of the examiner spoke up.

"What is it?" he growled, turning around to address the woman. "Can't you see we're in the middle of a ceremony here?"

"Yes, I'm aware of it that, it's just #346's application, sir. Something's just come up." she explained, holding up her report.

"Let me see that." Sentinel snatched the pad out of her hands and read it furiously to himself, eyes darting towards Bumblebee every few seconds.

"Probably just a mixed up registration number, it tends to happen every now and then." Jazz smiled reassuringly.

Bumblebee weakly returned the smile but from how drawn Sentinel's eyebrows were, a sudden unsettling feeling began to grow in the pit of his stomach and he broke out into a cold sweat.

After finishing and re-reading it again, Sentinel's back straightened and he looked the officer in the eyes, tightly asking.

"You're absolutely 100% correct?"

"Yes sir."

Sentinel nodded in understanding and walked back over to Bumblebee, who kept firm eye contact as Sentinel glared down at him with the ugliest of faces that would make a weaker man quiver in fear.

"Do you know what this is about?" He hissed, flipping the screen over for him to read.

Bumblebee read the first sentence before his eyes widened and his face turned pale.

"I-I can explain…"

"The Elite guard have strict rules about candidates with criminal records." Sentinel growled, now shoving Bumblebee's report right in his face.

Feeling as if he had just been punched in the gut, Bumblebee almost lost his balance.

"It's nothing like that!" Bumblebee interrupted, his mind running a mile a minute. "I wasn't doing anything illegal!"

"How did someone like you even get through security check?" Sentinel demanded. "Unless, you lied about your application?"

"I never lied, and I'm not a criminal." Bumblebee was hyperventilating. _Why now?_ Why now when he was so close? "Look, just ask Longarm, he-"

"Longarm Prime?" Sentinel interrupted "As in Head of Intel, where is he?"

"Longarm couldn't be here today, so he sent Cliffjumper in his place," Jazz explained.

"Then get him down here this second!"

"Right," Jazz gave Bumblebee a sympathetic look before grabbing the microphone from its stand and requested Cliffjumper's presence in the Main Hall.

It was suddenly unnerving watching the top nine candidates stare at him with uncertainty, especially with the remaining fifty standing in the crowd, silently gloating that Bumblebee was about to get kicked off the program. Bumblebee needed something else to focus on, so he looked left and right for the familiar shape of Bulkhead, but he was nowhere in sight. Bumblebee was all alone. Luckily they didn't have to wait too long as Cybertron Intel was used to having small candidates for their division, and had already finished assigning staff members.

"You requested my presence, sir?" said an older man, no taller than Bumblebee. He was dressed in simple red uniform with with the Intel symbol on his shoulder.

"I want you to get Longarm on the line this instant," Sentinel ordered.

Cliffjumper blinked curiously, but he didn't seem to be remotely threatened by Sentinel's attitude.

"I'm afraid that isn't a possibility at the moment," he calmly explained. "Longarm Prime has been called away to a meeting and won't be back until Monday at the earliest."

Bumblebee's shook uncontrollably as his stomach churned. Where was Longarm?

"Please!" he begged, stepping in front of Sentinel. "Longarm is an old friend of mine. I just need to get in touch with him for only a minute to explain the situation. He wrote straight to the head examiners about my application-"

"Wait, what's your name?" Cliffjumper suddenly asked, pulling out his own electronic pad.

"Bumblebee #346."

"Yes, I know you." He murmured, scrolling for something. "You're the one who helped the Police Force in a case just over a year ago," he exclaimed, bringing up a wall of text. "Longarm Prime even wrote a full recommendation for your work that day and even put in a good word to get you through the elimination rounds."

Bumblebee's heart suddenly soared, he finally had proof.

"I don't care if Ultra Magnus himself wrote a 20 page essay." Sentinel interrupted. "The Elite Guard does not allow anyone with a criminal record to apply for a position within the League."

"It's not a record!" Bumblebee exclaimed. "At least not anymore it isn't. My slate was wiped clean ages ago, and Longarm promised to get me onto the Elite Guard program for helping with that case. Besides, you make it sound like I've been thrown in the stockade or something!"

"You're out of the program."

The room had gone dead silent; you could have heard a pin drop

"Excuse me?"

"I said you're out of the program," Sentinel growled. "Jazz, find me the eleventh candidate and bring them up."

"No," Bumblebee mouthed, his throat closing up. _No, no, no, no_.

"You sure SP?" Jazz asked, now reading through the report himself. "There' nothing serious on here. Besides, Longarm spoke to the higher ups himself, surely the kid deserves a free pass just this once. He made it all the way to the top 10."

"I said he's out of the program!" Sentinel shouted. "And I mean the entire program. Have security escort him out this second!"

"That's not fair." Bumblebee cried out, tears pooling in the corner of his eyes. "You can't do that. To be an Elite Guard is all I ever wanted. I worked harder than anyone just to be here!"

"You'll hold your tongue when addressing a superior officer," Sentinel warned.

"Please!" he turned to Cliffjumper. "Just let me speak with Longarm, he'll explain everything. I swear, I'm not-

"Guards get this maggot out of my sight!" Sentinel ordered, motioning to two security guards to apprehend Bumblebee.

"Actually, he's with me."

All heads turned to Fanzone, who had up to this point been invisible among the growing crowd of spectators.

"What are you blabbering on about Fanzone?"

"I said the kid's with me, since his second choice was the Police Defence Command after all," Fanzone shrugged nonchalant. "The moment you declared him unfit for the Elite Guard, he fell under my jurisdiction."

"Then perhaps you didn't hear the part when I expelled him from the entire Autotrooper program."

"Under what charges?" Fanzone demanded. "Whatever crime you seem to be accusing the kid off, he had already been cleared of before apply."

"Watch how you speak to a Prime, Fanzone," Sentinel warned.

"Meh, same pay, different title," Fanzone snorted. "Just because the elite turns away raw talents doesn't mean me and my men will. Now, you're gonna hand him over or cause and even bigger scene for yourself?"

Sentinel stared down the Chief Inspector, neither one flinching an inch. Bumblebee's eyes darted between the two, and even Jazz looked rigid by what the eventually outcome would be. Sentinel was the first to break eye contact, glancing at the large crowd of spectators that had surrounded them.

"I want both of you out of my sight," Sentinel spat. "Jazz, I said get the 11th cadet up here! I want this ceremony over with now!"

Bumblebee felt numb as Jazz called out another name, gesturing for another cadet to take his place in line with the others. All noise filtered out as Sentinel quickly presented them with the last Elite Guard badge, and with one final salute he dubbed all ten of them as Junior Elite Guard officers. Jazz smiled fondly at his new charges, but managed to spare Bumblebee one last apologetic look before turning away.

Bumblebee barely registered that he was being led away from the podium by a strong hand around his arm, until they exited the Hall.

"Come on, we haven't got all day" Fanzone shoved Bumblebee none too gently.

"Right," Bumblebee choked out, dragging his feet.

"Look, I now this isn't what you wanted, but the Police force is still a proud division to be a part of. Besides, as much as I hate the Elite, the fast-track course isn't the only way to become one."

Bumblebee blinked.

"Sir?"

"I was offered the position of Elite several years back for my long years of service," Fanzone shrugged, as if it was no big deal.

"You're an Elite?" bumblebee awed.

"What did I just say about the Elite Guard?" Fanzone growled. "I told them exactly where they could shove their fancy title, and became Chief inspector instead."

"But why would you turn down the opportunity to become an Elite?!"

"Because I like where I am and wouldn't have it any other way" he boasted with pride. "Besides, the job requires working with too many machines for my taste. It seems kids these days just want to make a simple job more complicated than it actually is."

Bumblebee came to a complete stop and stared after the chief with amazement. He had so many questions, but he didn't know where to begin.

"But," Fanzone too stopped as well. "If being an Elite Guard is really what you want. Rise through the ranks, work hard and you'll get there. The right way."

He turned around and they shared a look. Even though Fanzone clearly didn't like Bumblebee's career choice, he was still willing to help him achievement his dream. The moment only lasted a split of a second though before Fanzone's body language hardened, his eyes narrowed and a sneer spread across his face.

"Now, stop standing there lolly-gagging and get a move on rookie! Just because I went easy on you back there doesn't mean you get any special treatment while under my watch. You're in boot camp now worm, and I'm gonna make you regret ever making the Police Department your second choice. Now move, move, MOVE!"

"Yes sir!" Bumblebee scrambled after the chief, running like his life depended on it.

Who knows maybe this police thing would work out after all?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The name Autotroopers is actual a word in the Animated universe, for the Cybertron Police Force, as confirmed by Derrick J. Wyatt. These Autobots look similar to Ironhide in body structure, only with white with black.
> 
> Additionally, there are no OCs in this entire story. Every named character comes from the Animated universe, whether it be from the cartoon or the comics (and yes, there will be more in later chapters, some with major roles.).
> 
> Originally, I was going to have the Entrance Hall scene play out like the actual “Autoboot Camp” episode, where Sentinel chooses Bumblebee and Bulkhead’s names for them. I came up with this entire back story about Cybertron and how they consider names to be sacred, and how you would only reveal your true name to close friends and family. Ultimately, I ended scrapping the idea because the narrative just didn’t flow, and I couldn’t justify why the Autotroopers would make you take on an alias, when they still live their normal civilian lives outside of work.
> 
> Skin tones
> 
> Some of you may be curious as to why Arcee is described as having olive skin, whereas all Transformers/Human fanart of her she is always drawn as white. The reasons is, in order to make the world more diverse I decided all characters with dark grey faceplates like Bumblebee would have dark skin, whereas those with pale grey like Bulkhead are white, and anyone with colourful faces like pink, blue or green would have olive skin.
> 
> Pale – Bulkhead, Fanzone, Ultra Magnus, Megatron, Longarm, Blurr, Swoop, Wreck-Gar, Mixmaster, Yoketron  
> Olive – Optimus Prime, Ratchet, Elita-1, Arcee, Starscream, Lugnut, Blitzwing, Soundwave, Wasp, Snarl, Dirt Boss, Ironhide, Red Alert  
> Dark – Bumblebee, Prowl, Sari, Sumdac, Sentinel Prime, Jazz, Grimlock, Swindle, Scrapper, Rodimus Prime, Hotshot  
> ??? - Lockdown (black & white facepaint)  
> 


	2. Ch.2 New Jobs, New Partners, New Enemies

**Chapter Two – New Jobs, New Partners, New Enemies**

  
Bulkhead let out an exhausted sigh as he emptied the last cardboard box. A week had passed since the entrance exams, and Bulkhead and Bumblebee had only now just moved into their new apartment complex, in the Alpha Centauri sector on Cybertron. It was a small, dingy, two bedroom flat with a living-room/kitchen, and one bathroom. But the rent was cheap, and it was only a few blocks away from the Ground Bridge terminal, so it was the perfect location for both Bulkhead and Bumblebee to get to their respective jobs.

Speaking of his best friend, Bumblebee had been unusually quiet today, currently outside on the square concrete balcony, sitting on the railing and gazing down at the city lights.

“Little buddy, that doesn’t look very safe. Why don’t you come in and look at our new home?” he asked, but got no response. “Bumblebee?”

“Huh?” Bumblebee turned around and blinked sluggishly. “You say something, big guy?”

Bulkhead grew increasingly concerned. “I was just curious if you liked our new home.”

“Of course I do!” Bee exclaimed as jumping down from the railing. “Sure, the place could use a new coat of paint, but it’s ours. Now we don’t have to share a sink with four other guys.”

Bumblebee put on his trademark grin and flopped down onto the faded, lumpy sofa. Bulkhead knew it was forced, but Bee’s smile was contagious, and couldn’t help himself from smiling right back.

“Yeah, all ours.” He took the seat next to Bumblebee and breathed in the musky scent of their new flat. “I can’t believe it’s already been a week. We just finished moving in and now we start our first day at work tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” Bumblebee sighed heavily, leaning further into the material. “No turning back now.”

“I’m so excited!” Bulkhead fidgeted. “I mean, I’ve been to the Ministry of Science before on school fieldtrips, but never as an employee. I can’t wait to see everything and meet everyone. Just imagine the projects we’ll be working on. Of course, I know we won’t be doing anything major just yet, but to actually work alongside the scientists who built this city? It’s an honour. I especially can’t wait to meet Professor Sumdac, he’s head of the robotic department and practically invited most of the automatons on the market-…”

Bumblebee frowned and drowned out Bulkhead’s gushing as he stared out the window again, suddenly feeling very melancholy. Bulkhead had just finished explaining the inner workings of microbots when he noticed Bumblebee hadn’t interrupted him at any point.

“I’m sorry, little buddy” Bulkhead mumbled. “I didn’t mean to ramble. And I know you don’t wanna talk about what happened. It wasn’t fair what that Sentinel guy did. Especially what you did last year, helping the police catch that-“

“I’m fine, Bulk!” Bee snapped. Bulkhead flinched and ducked his head.

Bumblebee didn’t mean to lose his temper, he really didn’t, but this week had taken its toll and him, and he really needed to let off some steam. As much as Captain’s Fanzone “little pet talk” helped Bumblebee feel better about his current predicament, that didn’t mean he still didn’t feel bitter about the whole thing. He had been humiliated in front of an entire hall of recruits, all of which probably thought he had been sent to juvie or something, and worse, Sentinel wouldn’t even let him explain himself.

Which lead to his second problem, Bee still couldn’t get through to Longarm. Where was he? Every time he rang, the call would go straight to Cliffjumper’s office, who was growing increasingly irritated by the youth’s daily calls, and kept telling him, no he still could not get in touch with Longarm Prime, and yes, he’ll be sure to send on the message once Longarm returned.

Where could he possibly been on Cybertron where he couldn’t access a phone?

Bumblebee picked up one of the beaten cushions and smothered himself with it, screaming into the fabric.

“I’m sorry I brought it up.” Bulkhead patted him on the back.

“No, I’m sorry big guy.” He mumbled, throwing the cushion aside. “You have every right to be excited. You made it buddy. You’re a fully qualified technician. We should be out celebrating, not sitting here staring at the wall.”

“Bee we have to be up early tomorrow.” Bulkhead reminded him, but the offer was tempting.

“I know.” Bumblebee climbed to his feet and ran over to the kitchen area. Opening their newly stocked fridge, Bumblebee pulled out two chilled bottles of bear and tossed one over to Bulkhead, who caught it effortlessly twisted the cap off.

“To Bulkhead!” He cheered, wrestling with the bottle opener. “Trainee assistant today and future top scientist on Cybertron.”

“And to Bumblebee,” Bulkhead grinned, lifting his own bottle. “Junior Police Officer and future Elite Guard.”

The two laughed and clinked bottles before drowning them.

They cooked up a banquet of cheap instant noodles, played some Ninja Gladiator, and watched old movies with another round of drinks, before deciding they needed to go to bed early that night and went to their respective rooms. Neither of them could sleep though, but for two different reasons.

Bulkhead tossed and turned in his sheets, filled to the brim with excitement by what tomorrow’s adventure would bring him. Bumblebee however was lost in thought as he sat on his windowsill, looking up at the starlit sky.

He thought back to his family and the promise he made to his mother before leaving home to enroll in the Academy.

“I’ll show him,” he vowed. “I’ll show everyone I’m more than just some punk off the streets. I’ll become an Elite Guard and prove them all wrong. Just watch me.”

He eventually drifted off to sleep, heading resting in his folded arms.

The next morning both boys were up, frantically running around the apartment. Bulkhead, despite organizing his textbooks at least three times last night, was panicking over a document he couldn’t find in his folder, whereas Bumblebee was still trying to put on the black and white uniform he wore to the entrance exam, not understanding why he could only get one arm in through his jacket.

“I can’t believe we’re going to be late on our first day of work,” Bulkhead fretted, finally finding the correct document in one of his data pads, then shoving said data pad into his folder before slinging the bag over his shoulder. “I can’t believe we overslept!”

“Tired. Need. Coffee.” Bumblebee yawned, looking for his other boot.

“We don’t have time for coffee, Bee! We gotta go!”

Bulkhead threw Bumblebee his backpack, hitting the shorter man in the back of the head and sending him tumbling to the floor, where he just happened to spot his left boot.

“Can’t we at least make some toast?” he whined, tugging on his other boot.

“You can eat when we get to the station.”

Bulkhead stomped over to the fallen blond and picked him up by the back of his shirt. He helped Bumblebee put on his jacket and bag, before hauling him out the front door. The two didn’t wait for the elevator, choosing to instead run down eight flights of stairs, rushing past other tenants on their way down. They tumbled out of the front lobby and ran down the streets towards the terminal, bickering the entire way.

~~~

  
Outside of the Department of Science, a young woman in a black and yellow outfit, with mint green highlights, sat outside of a nearby café, nursing a cup of coffee as she scanned through her data pad. She blew a strand of blonde hair from her brown face, oblivious to the man in red and blue, walking towards her.

“Attentive as ever, Elita.”

Elita dropped her data pad and sprung to her feet, turning the face the bronze skinned man.

“Optimus!” They embraced. “It’s been ages since we last got together. How has work been treating you? I can’t wait to tell you all about the new species we’ve been allowed to research. Let me buy you a drink.”

She offered a chair and Optimus, who politely accepted as he was but all manhandled into the seat. Optimus was around her age, though the speckles of grey running through his brown hair often caused people to think he was older than he actually was.

“Slow down, Elita.” He laughed, tugging down his jacket. “It’s good to see you too, but shouldn’t we wait for Sentinel first before sharing stories.”

“You snooze you lose,” she waved off. “Besides, I’m too excited to keep this to myself. Botanica is letting me lead the project on Archa Seven. You’ve never seen a spider this size before, Optimus. I’m already in the middle of writing a paper about it. Can you imagine what this could do for my career if I were to get it published?”

“I can imagine,” he beamed, resting his hand over hers. “I’m really happy for you Elita.”

She smiled back, but then saw the emblem on her friend’s jacket, then her smile spread into a full toothed grin.

“Optimus why didn’t you tell me you got promoted to Prime?”

Optimus covered the red badge with his hand and sheepishly turned his face away. “I didn’t want to rain on your parade,” he mumbled.

“As if you could.” She rolled her eyes and reached out to turn his face towards her. “Still, this is big news Optimus, you’re now a Prime.”

“And about time.” Optimus and Elita turned around, spotting Sentinel walking towards them with a tray of drinks in hand. “Took you long enough too.”

“Be nice, Sentinel,” she warned.

“He knows I’m just teasing,” Optimus rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything as Sentinel passed them their drinks and took the vacant chair next to him.

“Still, this is big news.” Elita beamed. “We finally did it. All three of us, Primes. Just like we promised back at the academy.”

“And to think, Kup never thought we’d even graduate.”

“Considering the amount of trouble you two got into, I can’t say I blame him,” Optimus chuckled.

“Don’t act so high and mighty,” Sentinel lightly jabbed Optimus in the ribs. “It’s not our fault you don’t know the meaning of fun, Mr Archives.”

“No, I just don’t like the idea of getting expelled.”

“Optimus has a point, Sentinel. Kup probably only graduated us so he didn’t have to see us in class again,” Elita laughed.

“No wonder he retired after teaching us.”

The three joked back and forth, sharing storied about their old dorm years and their current professions.

“You wouldn’t believe the glitches I had to sort this year,” Sentinel groaned. “I can’t believe how many of them made it into the final ranking for Elite Guard. I swear to Primus, Ultra Magnus is going soft.”

“I don’t know Sentinel. From what I hear we got a pretty good batch of youths for the Fire Department this year. I’ll even be training them.”

“So that’s why they promoted you.”

Elita checked her watch.

“Come on guys, I have to get back to the lab to pick up a few things before we head off. You two might as well come to the unveiling. Professor Sumdac is going to show off his newest line of mini-cons to the public.”

“Not much of an unveiling if you already told us what it is,” said Sentinel.

The three drowned the rest of the drinks and walked towards the Department of Science.

  
~~~

  
Bumblebee and Bulkhead stumbled through the automatic doors, heaving as they collapsed against the nearest wall.

“See, told you we’d make it,” Bee gasped as he sucked in much needed air.

“Just barely,” Bulkhead panted. “We still need to find our ground bridges.”

“Right,” Bumblebee got to his feet and trudged over to the notice board.

The board was filled with twelve different colours lines running randomly all across the city, with various station names on each dot.

“Well, the Science Department is in the Kappa Leonis section, so it looks like you’re taking the black rail line.”

“And Gamma Serpentis is the Yellow line,” said Bulkhead. “Speaking of which, looks like your tram is arriving.”

Bulkhead pointed to the platform below them where a blue light erupted and a metal tram passed through the portal.

“Gotta go, Bulkhead,” Bumblebee shouted as he ran towards his station. “Let me know how it goes!”

“You too, little buddy!” Bulkhead waved before jogging off to his own platform.

The doors to the tram opened and Bumblebee spotted a small group of young people in the same black and white uniform as himself boarding the tram. Thinking quickly, Bumblebee jumped over the barrier and legged it, catching the door with his hand before it had a chance to close in his face.

“Made it!” he exclaimed as he pried the shutters open and slipped inside. All the chairs were taken, so Bumblebee collapsed against the closed door.

“Cutting close there weren’t you?”

Bumblebee looked up and spotted a young man around his age and height with dark skin. He recognised the face from the induction day with Fanzone and the other officers but couldn’t quite place his name.

“I like living on the edge,” Bumblebee waved off. “I remember you. We didn’t have a chance to talk though at the induction.”

“Yeah, name’s Hot Shot,” he winked.

“Nice to meet ya. Name’s Bumblebee.” He offered his hand and they shook.

“I know,” Hot Shot grinned. “You were number 10 in the Elite ranking.”

Bumblebee froze and pulled his hand back. “You know about that?”

“I was there,” said Hot Shot. “But I only ranked 13, which sucks, but I can’t imagine what it was like for you to make it all the way to the top ten and still not make it. You clearly earned that spot.”

“Yeah,” Bumblebee trailed off, suddenly wanting nothing more than to force the doors open again and jump out.

The tram jerked and the two bumped into each other as everyone turned towards the tracks where a portal of electric blue light flashed before their eyes. The tram passed through and Bumblebee felt his hair stand on end as the air crackled around them. They were transported to another part of Cybertron and emerged on the other side of the portal, finding themselves in the Emergency services centre of the Gamma Serpentis sector. The doors opened and everyone departed.

Bumblebee stuck close to Hot Shot and the others as they made their way out of the smaller station and walked down the path that led them to the Cybertron Police Defense Command. They had been given a tour of the facility prior, so there was no confusion as they made their way to the building complex and entered through the front doors.

“All junior officers, fall in!” Fanzone’s voice boomed from the other side of the room.

Bumblebee, Hotshot and the rest of the cadets ran towards the Chief and another officer, and all stood at attention in line.

“As you all remember, I am your Chief, Captain Fanzone, and this is my partner, Officer Depth Charge.” He motioned to the stocky officer with a slight tan and permanent frown across his face. “He will be your commanding officer while you are here. Any problems, you go straight to his office or ring him up on his work line.”

“Yes, sir!” they saluted.

Fanzone nodded with slight approval and turned to his Depth Charge. “I’ll get the senior officers together once they show up for their morning rounds. In the meantime, I leave these young ones in your capable hands.”

Depth Charge nodded and Fanzone left to perform his daily rounds. Depth Charge then snapped towards his charges and his eyes narrowed with disdain.

“Listen up, rookies,” he hissed. “I don’t put up with smart mouthing and lazy-ing about in this office. You’re now fully recognized junior officers, so you better start living up to that badge or I won’t hesitate is taking it back and throwing your sorry asses onto the curb.”

“Geez, what climbed up his hole and died,” Bumblebee whispered into Hot Shot’s ear.

“Probably the remains of his _charming personality_ ,” he snickered.

“You two got something you want to share with the rest of the class!” Depth Charge shouted in their faces.

“Depth Charge sir, no sir!” they stammered.

“If you two clowns think Fanzone is hard, then you’re in for a big disappointment,” he growled. “I make him look like a kitten in comparison, so you two better stop yapping your mouths and start listening or I’ll have you both filing out the evidence archives until you’re as old as I am.”

They gulped.

“Now, your uniforms have finally arrived, so let’s get you boys and girls suited up.”

With a snap of his heels he turned around and escorted them into the back room where piles of freshly delivered boxes were waiting for them. They stood in line as Depth Charge handed out each article of clothing, with their names printed into the fabric. Bumblebee eagerly took his and went to the male changing rooms. He and the other boys pulled on their black thermals, trousers, and boots. Then helped each other work out how to apply their yellowed padded armour plates. Bumblebee made sure to observe himself in the full length mirror, grinning at his own reflection. Yellow had always been his favourite colour and he thought he looked really nice in his jacket and badge (although, he did wonder if anyone would noticed if he traded in his pair of boots for his trademark wheelies.).

Depth Charge then practically dragged them out of the changing rooms and back into the hallway, putting down another set of boxes.

“You’ll notice you’re wearing black and yellow, instead of the gold and yellow uniforms like the senior officers,” he explained as he tore open the cardboard container. “And unlike the senior officers, you’ll also be given these.”

He pulled out an unusual pair of black gloves with pieces of metal around the cuffs.

“They may seem bulky, but these little beauties might just save your lives one day.” He slipped on a single glove and flexed his fingers and slapped his hand over the glove, just above his pulse. The metal parts started to whiz and unfold into a sharp cone like structure that surrounded his hand, emitting a low pulse of static. “These, boys and girls, electroshock guns, or as well like to call them, stingers.”

Bumblebee shifted eagerly from one foot to the other, wanting to try them out for himself. He shared a look with Hot Shot, who was just as eager to try one on as he was.

“Now before any of you get excited, these are not toys,” he snapped. “While not capable of killing a person, they are powerful enough to bring down a man of my stature, so don’t even think about practicing on each other. It’s a privilege to be given one of these, so I expect you to only ever use these only in emergencies. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes sir, Depth Charge.”

Depth Charged nodded and started handing them out. Bumblebee admired the gloves as they were practically made for him. He slapped his wrists together and couldn’t supress a grin as two stingers sprung out.

“Sweet!”

“Now this is what I’m talking about!” Hot Shot whooped, accidently setting off some static at another recruit in the process.

Depth Charge glared hatefully down at them and Bumblebee and Hot Shot quickly turned the stingers off again. They were eventually lead back into the main room where Fanzone had gathered the senior officers around his desk.

“Not half bad,” Fanzone mused as he inspected them over. Bumblebee couldn’t help but pop his jacket, feeling way too confident to care whether anyone thought he was vain or not. “Now, each junior officer is paired up with a senior officer. They’ll look out for you and teach you as you go along, so listen to everything they have to say and learn to adapt. They’re not here to babysit you. They rely on you watching their back, just as much as they are for you.”

The group of senior men and women took in each of the new recruits, all grinning slyly as the fresh meat before him. No doubt already taking bets on who was going to mess up first or break protocol.

“Now, Hot Shot you’re with Cheetor.”

A tall pale blonde, towering over the other officer stepped forward and walked over to Hot Shot.

“Think you can keep up with me, kid,” he flashed a sharp tooth grin.

“I don’t know, can you?” the kid jabbed right back.

Cheetor’s grin spread. They were gonna get along just fine.

Fanzone continued reading through his list, pairing them off one by until he reached the last three names. “Jackpot meet, Hubcap, Furão you’ll be partnered up with Stungun, and Bumblebee you’re with Prowl.”

A short square-chinned blonde man shook hands Jackpot, and a taller, darker skinned youth walked over to Furão. Bumblebee eagerly scanned the remaining officers for his partner but none of them stepped forward to greet Bumblebee.

“Prowl?” repeated Fanzone, looking up from his sheet. “Alright, where’s Prowl?”

The front door was kicked open and a thin man in leather, wearing a motorcycle helmet dragged in a angry, and clearly drunk, middle-aged man in stasis cuffs.

“You’re cutting off my circulation you damn cop.” He man spat, trying to kick at the officer ankles.

“Then stop struggling,” the officer advised, side stepping the kick and shoving him face down on the reception desk.

“Drunk driver,” he explained in an even tone. “Caught speeding and endangering the lives of another driver, and two civilians. No causalities though. I want him detained for questioning once he sobers up.”

“Of course,” said the receptionist, typing into their computer, no doubt used to seeing this kind of action every morning before coffee.

The officer nodded respectfully and allowed two guards to escort the man into the detention area. With his hands now free the officer unstrapped his helmet and took it off, revealing a dark skinned man with raven black hair and a goatee.

Bumblebee awed at how cool the guy was.

“Prowl you’re late!” Shouted Fanzone from his desk.

“Apologizes Chief,” the man said courteously, walking over to his superior. “I was detained on my way to work.”

“Well, you’re just in time to meet your new partner. Say hello to Bumblebee.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder and Bumblebee eagerly stepped forward, offering the officer his hand.

“Nice to meet ya!”

Prowl stared down at the appendage with disdain, and ignored him as he talked to Fanzone over the youth’s head. Bumblebee snatched his hand back and took an instant disliking towards him.

“Chief we’ve been over this, I don’t do well in teams-“

“And I don’t wanna hear it Prowl,” Fanzone snapped. “Every officer on the force works as a unit and you’re no exception. Even Cheetor has a partner and this is the second one he’s been through this month!”

Hot Shot flinched and nervously looked at his partner, who bashfully rubbed the back of his head.

“Nothing major, he’ll be back on his feet once he’s discharged from the hospital.”

That did nothing to sooth his fears.

“He’ll only be a liability to me,” Prowl sniffed. “I can’t be responsible for a child.”

“Child?” Bumblebee gapped. “Well, old man, maybe I don’t want to work with a stuck up elitist like you!”

Up close Prowl wasn’t nearly as tall as he looked up close, but he was still a few inches taller than Bumblebee.

“I wouldn’t advise getting in matters that are way over your head, child. You are young, inexperienced, and you’ll only get in my way.”

“Why you son of a-“

“Alright enough!” Fanzone broke them up.

He pointed to Bumblebee. “You zip it. You haven’t even been here a full five minutes and already you’re pushing your luck.”

He turned to Prowl.

“And you, Prowl. This isn’t up for debate. You’ve been going solo for far too long. Now suck it up before I put both of you both on traffic control for a month.”

Prowl scowled but kept his mouth shut, choosing instead to glare at Bumblebee, like an inconvenient bug that wouldn’t stop buzzing around him. “Fine.”

“Fine”, Bee huffed.

Fanzone let out a tired sigh and turned to other officers who had up to this point been perfectly quiet as they watched to potential fight unfold.

“And don’t you lazy lot have assignments you should be doing? Get out there and protect the public!” Everyone jumped out of their stupor and dispersed, the senior officers directing the junior officers to their respective work places.

Prowl looked Bumblebee up and down before abruptly turning on his heels and heading for the front desk for their assignment. He took the data pad and a pair of keys for a squad car, and walked out the building with Bumblebee on his heels. They walked across the carpark to where the squad cars were kept and Prowl headed towards the one with the matching number on the key ring.

“Get in,” he ordered, opening the driver’s door and climbing in. Bumblebee cursed under his breath but grudgingly crawled into the passenger seat.

“So, where we going, partner.”

Prowl passed the data pad to Bumblebee.

“Kappa Leonis, Ministry of Science, North West section of Cybertron.” Prowl answered, turning the engine on. “Simple patrol work. There is a funfair taking place today so we are present simply to make sure no one causes a scene. Nothing too strenuous for you.”

Bumblebee couldn’t help be feel a tad bit disappointed by their assignment. Nowhere near as exciting as he thought it would be. Certainly nothing exciting enough that would grant him permission to use his stingers. Still, Bulkhead was currently at the Science Lab, which meant there was a high chance they could meet up and ditch not-so-tall, dark and moody, grab some food and enjoy the fair.

“Sounds good to me,” Bee said, putting on his best smile and putting his feet up on the dashboard.

Prowl raised an unimpressed eyebrow behind his shades but didn’t say anything, knocking Bee’s boots of the plastic and focussed on getting them to the other side of the city.

This was gonna be a long day…

  
~~

  
“And here is where the prototypes are tested,” said Mainframe, Perceptor’s software specialist. “At the moment you won’t be expected to do anything too complicated. Simply recording data and reporting back to your head of departments. As you are slowly exposed to more work you’ll be handed more responsibilities.”

The young group of researchers awed at the technology, Bulkhead, dressed in his new lab uniform, was greedily drinking in everything and asking Mainframe plenty of questions. The Science Lab exceeded all his previous expectations. All the machinery was state of the art, the creativity was contagious and couldn’t wait to start his own personal projects.

Bulkhead wasn’t the only one excited though, Glyph, Cosmos, and Primacron were darting back and forth, asking as many questions as they could about their respective fields. They were escorted to another room where they were divided into smaller groups and brought to the different departments. Bulkhead appeared to be the only one working in robotics, so he was ecstatic to know he would be Professor Sumdac’s only assistant.

“You must be Bulkhead,” Sumdac said as he shook the larger hand. “I’m professor Sumdac.”

“H-hello professor,” he stammered. “I’m a really big fan of your work. I actually wrote a paper on your robotics systems for my final project.”

“I’m very flattered,” the short man smiled. “Although robotics is a truly fascinating subject, I often find that people tend to not care for the finer details. You must have studied the schematics in great detail to understand them.”

“I had a lot of free time to read your essays on the energon farms,” Bulkhead admitted.

Sumdac smiled fondly, remembering his own youth as a farmer’s son, spending his nights working on his inventions.

“I think you and I are going to get along swimmingly Bulkhead,” he laughed. “In fact, I think you might actually appreciate my latest inventions on a deeper level then my own investors.”

“I would be honoured, sir,” said Bulkhead.

“Excellent,” he clapped his hands. “Although I’m afraid you’ll have to wait for the unveiling like everyone else. I promise it will be worth the wait, then I can’t wait to hear your own evaluation on them.”

“Dad!” cried a small girl with a robot dog running towards them. “Are you finished yet, the fair has already started!”

“My apologies, Sari,” said Professor Sumdac. “But I’m afraid I still have much to do before the unveiling.”

The mechanical dog run around them in circles, happily barking as it tugged on Bulkhead’s trouser leg.

“But dad, we’re missing the opening ceremony! And my science project is acting all funny again. I need to get it fixed before the judges show up.”

“Not again,” sighed professor Sumdac.

“I could take a look at it,” offered Bulkhead.

Sari turned to the lumbering giant, noticing him for the first time, and grinned brightly. “Really!”

He blushed and sheepishly wrung his fingers together. “Well, I mean, if professor Sumdac is still busy making preparations, I could always take a look at your project for you.”

Professor Sumdac considered the offer and nodded in agreement.

“I don’t see why not. Today is just to get you young researchers used to the facilities and environment. The really work won’t start until tomorrow, so what better way to take everything then exploring the grounds for yourself.”

“Thanks dad,” Sari hugged her father tightly. “You’re the best.”

“I expect you to take good care of my assistant,” he patted her on the head.

“You mean second assistant,” she grinned.

“Yes, of course, how could I forgot my number one assistant,” he laughed. “Have fun you two.”

Sari gripped Bulkhead tightly around the wrist and she and Sparkplug dragged him along.

“W-wait-!”

“We’ll see you at the unveiling, dad!”

Sumdac laughed as the two disappeared out of his office and towards the exit, where a large crowd of people were talking and bustling about, excited about this year’s festival.

  
~~

“Wow, this place sure is packed,” Bumblebee awed at all the stands and large groups of people talking excited about the various science projects and new inventions.

“Indeed,” groaned Prowl. “We will have to remain alert while we are here. Keep a watch out for pickpockets or anyone else that looks suspicious.”

“Way ahead of you,” said Bumblebee. “And I think I see someone suspicious hanging around the food court.”

Prowl grabbed Bumblebee by the back of his jacket before he could run off into the crowd.

“We are not here to have fun,” he growled. “We are merely here to keep the peace.”

“Who says we can’t do both?” he sniffed.

Prowl was about to give his partner a lecture when he caught a flash of maroon out of the corner of his eye. Turning around Prowl’s eyes narrowed further and he grit his teeth at the sight of a pointy chinned, black haired man in a maroon suit and tie skulking around from the shadows.

“Him...”

“Him who?” asked Bumblebee, trying to see whatever it was that caught Prowl’s eye.

“Follow me,” he ordered. “Keep quiet and just observe.”

Bumblebee wanted to tell Prowl where he could shove his orders, but the man was already on the move, making a bee line for the maroon suit man.

“Enjoying yourself, Starscream.”

The man froze where he stood at the stall he was at, slowly turning around a smiling with amusement and false sincerity at the officer.

“Officer Prowl,” he practically purred, and Bee felt a cold chill run down his spine at the voice. “How wonderful for the Police to grace us with their presence…And who is this?”

He caught sight of Bumblebee and the youth tried not to fidget uneasily as those beady eyes locked on him, that smile morphing into a shark tooth grin.

“Bumblebee,” he answered strongly. “I’m Prowl’s partner.”

“For the time being,” Prowl added.

Bee scowled and Starscream’s eyes beamed as he took in every detail of Bumblebee’s frame, trying to add it all to memory.

“I’ll be sure to keep note of that,” he said. “Bumblebee, a fine name for a young officer.”

“Wondering the fair by yourself?” asked Prowl, dragging the conversation back on track.

Starscream reluctantly tore his eyes away from Bumblebee and gave the senior officer his full attention.

“Well, I was scientist myself, until I transferred into business,” he shrugged. “I do like to keep track of my old social circles.”

“That’s not the only thing you keep track of though, is it?” Prowl hissed.

Starscream paused and gazed down at the officer with newfound amusement.

“Still on about that?” he chuckled. “My dear officer, that was ages ago, and as I’m sure you remember, I was cleared of all charges.”

“And the time before that as well.”

Starscream shrugged. “I do have an unfortunate habit at being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

He opened his mouth to continue but pressed his lips together and scowled at something beyond Prowl’s shoulder. Bumblebee turned around and spotted a middle-aged man in a three-piece suit making his way towards them.

“You’ll have to excuse me, officers, but duty calls.” Starscream nodded politely and brushed right past Prowl, pausing in front of Bumblebee, long enough to reach into his inside pocket, pull out a mini data pad and flash it in the young officer’s face. “A pleasure meeting you.”

He strode across the field, effortlessly making his way through the crowd to meet the older man who was now talking to him quite rapidly and bluntly.

“What was that about?” asked Bee, still blinking dots out of his eyes.

“Starscream just took your picture,” said Prowl bluntly.

“Yeah, I know that, but why?”

“He’s just adding you to his list,” Prowl explained. “Starscream makes it his business to know everything that goes on in Cybertron. He keeps tabs on just about everyone in the city. You’re new so it fascinated him.”

Prowl shrug nonchalant, while Bumblebee gaped at him, suddenly feeling very violated. He wanted nothing more than to chase after the creep and give him a piece of his mind, however his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of an explosion.

“What was that?!” he spun around, spotting a smoke cloud in the distance.

“Move!” Prowl ordered as he ran towards the commotion people were running away from.

They ran through the crowd, around the stands and raced towards the rising smoke cloud overheard. They jumped over the tables and through tents until they emerged on the other side, where a broken pile of machinery at the school science fair.

“Whoops,” said the little girl in front of the stall. “My bad.”

“Don’t worry, I can fix it,” said the large man beside her, holding up a charred piece of circuitry. “At least, I hope I can.”

“Bulkhead?”

The two craned their heads, spotting the two officers running towards him.

“Bumblebee, what are you doing here?”

“Working,” Bumblebee grinned, showing off his badge. “But more importantly, what are you doing? I thought you were supposed to be working in some big fancy lab, not supervising a school science fair.”

“I was, I’m just helping Sari with her project,” he motioned to the remains of said project. “It’s a miniature solar panel meant to convert energy and turn on this light bulb.”

“Solar panel, classic,” Bee grinned. “I used a wind turbine for mine.”

“Why didn’t I think of that,” Sari sighed. “Lot less hassle.”

“I hate to interrupt,” Prowl groaned from a distance. “But is everyone alright?”

“Oh, yes officer,” Bulkhead answered politely. “We just sort of got carried away, but I can fix it with just a bit of tweaking.”

“Need a hand?” Bee asked, completely ignoring Prowl who was eager to get back to patrolling now that there was no reason to panic.

“Sure, hold this,” Sari passed his a few wires to hold. “I just need to solder these back in place. I must have gotten them mixed around. No wonder it blew up in my face. I’m Sari by the way.”

“Sorry for what?” he asked. “It’s not like anyone got hurt.”

“No, I mean my name is Sari.”

“Oh! Nice to meet you, Sari. I’m Bumblebee, Mr. Grump over there is, Prowl, and I’m guessing you already met my buddy, Bulkhead.”

Prowl snorted and stalked away, mumbling something about not having time for this nonsense.

Sari nodded. “Uh huh, he’s my dad’s second assistant. After me of course.”

“Ok, I think I solved the problem this time,” said Bulkhead as he set up the panels. “Ready to try this again?”

“Read!” said Sari, pulling on a pair of plastic goggles this time. Bumblebee tried to find something to protect himself with, and pulled down the visor of his helmet. Bulkhead flipped the switch but nothing happened, the panels were still and the light bulb didn’t so much as flicker. Sari scowled and kicked the table with her foot. The bulb flickered and lit up brightly.

“It works!” Bee beamed.

“Thank you, Bulkhead!” Sari hugged her new friend around the middle and Bulkhead smiled bashfully.

“It’s not that hard, really.”

“Maybe not to you egg-head,” Bumblebee shoved his friend lightly in the rib. “You really saved the day.”

Prowl stood at a distance, tapping his foot irritably as the three chattered excitedly. He was half tempted to abandon Bumblebee and pick him up after the shift had ended, but the last thing he needed was Fanzone breathing down his neck about ditching his partner while on duty.

“Officer Prowl.”

Prowl knew that voice anywhere and braced himself as he grudgingly turned around to face a man taller than himself, dressed in red and blue.

“Enjoying the festivities?” asked Optimus.

“Optimus Prime,” he greeted stiffly, eyes flickering to the emblem now adorning the man jacket. “All appears to be serene for the moment.”

“I see you have a new partner,” he nodded over at Bumblebee who was showing off his stingers to Bulkhead and Sari, who awed at them and wanted to see him fire at something.

“Temporary I assure you.” Prowl drolled. “I never knew you cared for this particular kind of field.” Prowl motioned to the science fair around them.

“No, you’re right,” Optimus laughed. “While I find all this fascinating, it’s not quite my cup of tea. I’m just here with Sentinel until Elita finishes collecting her work from upstairs.”

Prowl nodded, catching sight of the Elite Guard member, Sentinel browsing through the isle, not really taking an interest in anything he was seeing.

Their conversation was cut short by a loud announcement from the speakers overhead.

“Ladies and gentlemen if would please make your way to the podium in sector 3, we will start the unveiling.”

“That’s my dad!” Sari exclaimed, grabbing Bulkhead and Bumblebee by the arm and dragging them towards the front of the building. “Come on guys, you’re gonna love this!”

“Mind the jacket,” Bumblebee laughed, moving to pick Sari up by the waist and placing her over his shoulders. “Come on, Bulkhead, race ya!”

“No fair, Bumblebee, you always win!”

“I suppose we should follow them, before you lose him.” Said Optimus as the three disappeared into the crowd.

“Less than an hour and already I’m considering getting him a leash.”

Optimus laughed and went to collect Sentinel so the three could walk there together. Prowl allowed the two accompany him, only because he had valid reason to decline. They made small talk as they followed the crowd, with Sentinel doing most of the talking for Prowl and Optimus.

It wasn’t hard to spot the podium in front of the Lab entrance, where a concrete and metal art structure of an atom towered over them. They lost sight of Bumblebee, Bulkhead and Sari, who had rushed to the front before it was blocked off by a large mass of bodies. Hovering further back, Prowl craned his neck to try and spot a red haired girl on someone’s shoulders but couldn’t see anything. He did however spot Starscream and the man in the grey suit, Megatron, making their way up the steps to sit with various other scientists, including Wheejack and Botanica.

Isaac Sumdac made his way onto the platform from a side ladder. He spotted Megatron and avoided all eye contact, knowing the businessman was still sore about their last conversation in regards to his personal project. Instead he ignored the burning sensation in the back of his head and focussed on the large group of spectators, easily seeing Sari in the front row, sitting on the shoulders of a police officer and standing next to Bulkhead. He didn’t have time to question why she was with a police officer, but waved at her and she shouted something into the officer ear as she waved back.

“Thank you to each and every one of you who showed up here today,” he said into the microphone. “Fellow scientists, inventors and curious minds. I am honoured to be in the presence of such imaginative and hardworking guests, both young and old. We will begin the events shortly, first however I would like to thank the representatives here today, Wheeljack and Botanica, and of course a special thanks to our benefactor’s whose contribution has been the foundation to make all you see here today possible, Megatron.”

There was a round of applause. Wheeljack and Botanica waved back politely, discussing amongst themselves, while Megatron sat high in his chair with one leg crossed the other, only offering a slight nod of the head.

Starscream however paid no heed and was typing away in his data pad, like a bored teenager.

“Now, to begin this lustrous event, allow me to present, the Crimson Angels!”

Six jets flew overhead, trailing colourful smoke streams behind them. Sari and the boys cheered as the acrobatic planes performed overhead, making wide turns and fast dives, spiraling in formation and performing flips. Prowl clapped politely, absorbed in the performance as much as Optimus and Sentinel were. Yet, something in the distance caught his eye and made pause.  
“Wait, what’s that?”

Optimus almost didn’t hear him over the crowd, but look down at Prowl with a puzzled look.

“You say something, Prowl?”

Prowl pointed upwards and Optimus followed the finger, seeing a small grey figure in the sky, growing bigger and speeding towards them!

Both dropped onto their knees as the flying figure flew over their heads and spooked the crowd as it flew off again.

“Did you see that?!” Sentinel shouted over the noise. “It has wings!”

The human shape figure with wings rolled and as he climbed over the crowd.

“This isn’t part of the programme,” Bulkhead mused from his spot as he read through the leaflet.

“Who cares, it’s wicked!” Bumblebee fist pumped as the flying figure came back towards. “You think it’s some kind of flying robot?”

“It kinda looks like a person,” Sari squinted her eyes but couldn’t get a good look at it. It was moving too fast.

“That’s my flight tech-suit!” Sumdac exclaimed from the stage, turning to face Megatron, who much to his surprised, looked as equally as baffled as himself.

Megatron turned to his second, silently demanding explanation but the younger man could only sheepishly shrug his shoulders, at a loss for words as his eyes followed the flying figure, who summersaulted and dropped down towards them. The crowd erupted with laughter and Bumblebee and Sari clapped the loudest.

“That guy better be careful how low he gets,” said Bulkhead. “Otherwise he’s gonna be right over our heads-”

A loud explosion shook the ground.

Sari tumbled out of Bumblebee’s arms and rolled to the ground, the force of the explosion throwing them all backwards. Bumblebee was stunned where he lay on the ground, his vision completely white and his ears ringing from the noise.

“The building’s on fire!” someone was shouting, but he couldn’t make out who. Blinking the light from his eyes, Bumblebee’s vision flooded with red as flames burst from the building.

“Elita’s in there!” Sentinel shouted as he crawled back to his feet, save enough distance from the explosion that he wasn’t as affected as those up close. He didn’t so much as wait for Optimus before he ran towards the building, fighting his way through the crowd.

Optimus helped Prowl to his feet, but at the mention of Elita he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, dialing up his work place.

“Hello, I’m at Ministry of Science, there is a fire at the lab and people are in danger. I need all available units here now!”

Prowl was already on his phone as well, getting in touch with the police department.

“My lab,” Sumdac mourned from where he lay on the floor, taking in the site of the smoking building. The majority of the complex was completely intact but the source of the explosion had come from the robotics wing. His wing.

Megatron crawled back to his feet, body sore all over, but otherwise perfectly fine. “Starscream, explain!”

“The explosives,” Starscream hissed as he staggered back to his feet. “The flight suit had been acquired by my men as you ordered, but the explosives weren’t meant to go off until Sumdac was back in his office.”

Megatron growled and grabbed his second by the neck, holding him at eye length.

“You fool!” he spat in smaller man’s face. “The moment I find out who’s in that suit, I will deal with you!”

“He’s coming towards us!” shouted Wheeljack from where he was holding Botanica.

All eyes turned to the figure in the flight suit, who was diving low, swooping over the heads of the terrified bystanders and heading right to the podium, and flying right towards them. The figure raised an arm and before Megatron could comprehend what was attached to the thief’s arm, they fired.

Starscream pulled himself free of Megatron’s hold and back-pedaled as the shot hit, missing Megatron by a hair, and instead hitting the support beam of the giant atom structure above them and brining it down around them!

The crowd screamed and scattered.

“Sari!” Sumdac ran towards his daughter, only to stumble back as one of the structures crumbled and fell around him, blocking his escape route.

“Dad!”

“Sari!” Bulkhead screamed after Sari as she for the podium, oblivious to her father’s cries to get out of the way as debris continued to fall around them.

Bulkhead and Bumblebee ran after her, Bee being smaller and faster, jumped onto the platform and dived for Sari. She didn’t have time to register the large pieces of metal about to crush her, as Bumblebee wrapped his arms around her, protecting her with his body as he rolled out of the way of the impact.

He sighed in relief for a split second before another explosion rung through his ears, threatening to deafen him. There was more crying and screaming, and fire, so much fire. Looking up he spotted the main building shake overhead.

The roof was falling on them!

Not even thinking, Bumblebee stood and carried Sari away, only for pain to shoot up his leg hurt. He screamed and collapsed. Sari saw the wound and covered her mouth with her hand. Thinking fast, she got and tried to drag him away, but he was too big for her.

Looking up into her scared brown eyes, Bumblebee put on his best smile and said, “It’s gonna be alright, I promise.”

He pulled her into a hug and she didn’t even have time to return it before he lifted her up and flung her off the stage and into Bulkhead’s waiting arms.

“Bumblebee!” she screamed as the debris fell around him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry for starting this story a year ago and abandoning it for so long. I don't have any sort of excuse as to why I didn't update sooner. The truth is I shouldn't have posted the first chapter when I did. A year ago I was slowly losing all interest in the transformers fandom, TFA ended and everyone I made friends with moved on to other shows. And I was slowly moving on to other things as well. I started this fanfic just before I left, hoping maybe this could be the anchor that kept me from leaving, but after posting chapter one, I realized that this was not the case.
> 
> Fortunately, I did find my way back. I made a new friend online who I met in a previous fandom, and one day she decided to watch every single Transformers cartoon, and just binge watched them one after the other. After TF: Prime had ended, she told me to go see it. I had nothing better to do, so I did, and my love for Transformers was re-ignited. I watched it all the way through and felt nostalgic for Animated. I got out my old DVDs and remembered why I loved Animated in the first place. I went through my old documents and found the story I had planned out for TFA Humans, and went through all the plot points and character arcs, and finally wrote chapter two :)
> 
> Again, I apologize for leaving the way I did, but I promise I'm back now and have every intention of updating regularly :3


End file.
